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Filmora is one of the most famous video editing software in the industry. The company has also been successful in implementing AI, adding a whole new range of advanced AI capabilities and further improving the platform over time, making it more capable.
In this review, we put Filmora to the test and tried out its key features to see if it lives up to your expectations. We also dig deeper into other products, value for money, and usage experience and compare them with the best AI video editors to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Filmora: Plans and pricing
Like other AI editing and content generation tools, Filmora also offers a forever free plan that lets you edit your videos with access to a limited amount of creative assets such as effects, filters, transitions, music, and sound effects.
However, unlike Kapwing, Adobe Firefly, or Fliki, Filmora’s free plan does not include AI credits. This means that Filmora can’t generate AI videos or images for free, which is a bit disappointing considering the competitive environment.
Filmora’s paid plans start at $4.17 per month. The Basic plan is not much different from the free plan, except that you can use your own AI Mate 500 times and get 1 GB of cloud storage. Everything else is almost the same as the free plan.
You also have the option to add the Filmora Creative Assets add-on to your basic plan for $19.99 per month. However, a 14-day trial version of the Creative Assets package is available.
You also have the option to purchase the Basic plan with a one-time perpetual license for $79.99. However, you will not receive future updates and will have to pay an additional upgrade fee to access new versions.
Click here to check out Filmora.
Next up is the Advanced plan, which costs $5 per month and comes with 1,000 AI credits. This is the first plan that allows you to create AI videos and short clips and use AI tools such as Text to Object, Text to Speech, AI Music, AI Images, and AI Copywriting. You also get 10 GB of cloud storage along with limited access to creative assets.
Compared to the likes of Veed, which costs $12 per user per month, and Kapwing, which costs $16 per user per month, Filmora’s Advanced plan is one of the most affordable options available for AI content generation. As with the Basic plan, you can also add the Filmora Creative Assets pack for $19.99 per month.
However, the $8.33/month Premium plan already includes the Creative Assets package and is, in our opinion, one of the best plans for the price. Receive 2,000 AI credits and 100 GB of cloud storage each month. The Creative Assets package also includes access to over 12,000 effects and filters, over 7,000 transitions, and 1.5 million stock media assets.
Also, all prices listed above are for the Windows version; Mac prices are slightly higher. For example, a basic Mac plan costs $5.83 per month and a perpetual license costs $99.99, while an advanced plan costs $6.67 per month and a premium plan costs $10 per month.
Although it’s a bit more expensive than the Windows version, it’s still quite affordable when compared to other similar video editing and AI generation tools.
Filmora: Features
The best part about Filmora is that new features keep getting added. With the release of version 15, the platform has added a new repertoire of both AI and video editing features. For example, the new AI video extender helps you stretch footage forward or backward using prompts.
This is useful if your footage is too short and you need a little more footage for a smooth intro and outro. It’s also very easy to use. Simply drag your smart pen to your editing dashboard and add prompts that tell you how to continue with your video.
Similarly, Filmora also introduced prompt video editing. This allows you to add, replace, or delete objects in your video using simple text prompts instead of doing it manually in the editing dashboard.
Another impressive new feature is animated charts. It lets you import CSV or Excel files, generate chart and graph animations, and create dynamic line, area, and pie charts. This is useful for commercial teams who want to prepare engaging presentations using animated visualizations.
The platform also recently introduced advanced pixel tracking and motion compensation algorithms for built-in video stabilization. This will repair the unstable video footage and make it more stable.
Similarly, there is also a lens correction option that helps remove optical distortions caused by the camera’s lens. This includes barrel or fisheye distortion, pincushion distortion, vignetting, and perspective or trapezoidal distortion.
This is useful when editing wide-angle or action camera footage where the bulge of a fisheye lens can get in the way, or when editing architectural or interior shots where you want walls or buildings to look straight rather than curved.
Additionally, Filmora now has advanced planar tracking. This allows you to track an entire plane across a moving video, and you can add images, videos, text, logos, mosaics, or anything else to that plane, just like you would insert an image into a video. For example, you can put your logo on a moving truck, billboard, or storefront sign.
Filmora also has one of the largest libraries of creative assets we’ve seen in a similar application. Although this is a paid add-on, the Creative Assets package gives you access to a large pool of premium effects and media.
This includes stock media and original video effects, over 100,000 royalty-free audio tracks, professionally designed title templates, a wide range of basic and professional transitions, aesthetic and cinematic effects and filters, stickers, over 10,000 ready-made templates, and over 500 AI-powered effects.
Other features you get with Filmora include:
- AI-powered text-to-video, audio-to-video, and image-to-video conversion.
- AI storyboard generator. Generate ready-to-use storyboards with editable characters, scenes, and styles.
- All-new pen tool. Draw custom vector paths and shapes directly on video frames.
- AI color palette for cinematic color editing.
- Text animation with immersive and dynamic effects.
- AI-powered automatic subtitle generator and over 100 animated subtitle templates.
- AI voice cloning in 16 languages.
Filmora: Interface and in use
The Filmora dashboard can seem a little overwhelming at first, especially if you’re a beginner. The editing panel is divided into three panes. One pane is for editing and adding elements such as audio, titles, transitions, and effects. One is for viewing images and videos while editing them. There is a horizontal editing bar at the bottom where you can drag and drop various editing elements into your project.
At the top of the dashboard, you will see various options such as media, filters, transitions, effects, templates, etc. Simply click on one to open all available options, then drag and drop the option you want onto the horizontal bar at the bottom.
Clicking on the panel where the video is previewed will open a number of other options on the right toolbar where you can adjust various video settings such as width, height, rotation, and flip.
Scroll down to see various AI features such as motion tracking, planar tracking, motion blur, and stabilization. What we liked most is that you can simply toggle a button to enable the feature and simply drag elements onto your video to apply edits. No complicated steps are required.
In addition to video, advanced editing options such as speed, animation, color grading, and AI palettes are also available in the same right panel.
Let’s be honest: It can take some time for new users to get used to the platform. That said, Filmora is one of the most rewarding platforms once you get over the learning curve due to the vast amount of editing options available.
Filmora: Test method
Filmora doesn’t allow you to create AI content on its free plan, so we weren’t able to test the platform’s AI features. However, we have thoroughly tested Filmora’s editing features.
First, I downloaded the application to my Windows 11 PC. This took about 1-2 minutes. Once setup was complete, I imported the stock media for editing.[エフェクト]Click to add RGB stroke effects to a video of a man skateboarding. Filmora was able to identify and track people in videos and apply RGB stroke effects with great accuracy.
Adding effects was also very easy. All I had to do was select the effect and drag it to the horizontal bar. Next, I added a dissolving transition to the beginning of the video. Again, a simple drag and drop worked for me.
I then tried various video and audio editing settings, all of which were applied to the video almost instantly. I didn’t experience any lag or buffering while editing even the most complex or long videos.
Filmora: Alternative
Filmora focuses on video editing features and offers some advanced options for professional editors. However, there are some alternatives you can consider.
If you’re looking for free AI video and image generation, consider tools like Kapwing and Fliki. Both allow you to create AI videos and images for free.
Kapwing does a great job of generating AI characters, from simple everyday characters like babies and cheerleaders to fantasy characters like dragons and cyborgs. There are many options.
Fliki, on the other hand, allows you to choose from a variety of pre-video generation options. For example, you can customize video formats, templates, AI avatars, narrations, and captions before generating the video, saving you a lot of editing effort later.
However, Kapwing’s top plan is quite expensive at $50 per user per month, while Fliki can cost up to $44 per month. Even Filmora’s most advanced plan costs just $8.33 per month, making it much more affordable. Additionally, both platforms lack advanced editing options such as planar tracking and video stabilization.
Filmora: Final Verdict
Filmora is one of the most feature-packed AI content generation and editing tools on the market. Apart from basic features like image-to-video, script-to-video, and audio generation, advanced editing options are available like planar tracking, storyboard generator, video stabilization, AI video and audio extenders, dual monitor editing, animation charts, lens correction, and more.
Additionally, Filmora houses one of the most extensive libraries of stock assets, including licensed music, effects, transitions, stickers, and over 10,000 templates.
That said, its interface isn’t the simplest we’ve ever seen, and there’s a bit of a learning curve. Also, the free plan doesn’t allow you to create AI content, which was a bit disappointing. If this does not resolve your issue, consider other options such as Adobe Firefly or Kapwing.
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